Welcome to Teshuvah – Elul 8

Elul 8 The Season of our Repentance-Teshuvah

September/Elul

Wow today is the eighth

I’ve become much stronger

The work is great

 

I didn’t realize the effects

This field was completely neglected

I didn’t realize the depth

Those roots deeply directed

 

My hands have blisters

I’ve clasp so tightly the plow

He said I’m doing good

I don’t know how

 

I thought the digging

And the shovel were torture

But this plow is powerful

When the heat is a scorcher

 

 

When we get this cleared

I tell you never again

Will I ever allow

Weeds and thorns to begin

 

Devoured my dinner

He said I need a plan

My Teshuvah Date

Is such a direct MAN

 

© laurette laster

 

Redemption begins with repenting and it cannot happen any other way. Repentance is showing we understand the errors of our ways. God tells us, through Isaiah the prophet, in chapter 55, that His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than ours. So, just because we think something is a good idea or a smart move doesn’t make it so. Even good things may not be God’s choice for us.

Repentance is not a humiliating act; it is a humbling intimate encounter, with the most High God. Our repentance is bowing and humbling ourselves under His mighty hand.

God is not waiting to ‘get us’. These are lies from Satan. These lies are used to keep you and me in fear, and keep us from seeking the heart of God. God is for us, and we need Him. In His light we see light. However He has made requirements that we must fulfill to be pardoned.

I’m often reminded of no matter how far we stray from God, or how fast we run from Him, there is this one truth that always stands out. Always!

That truth I am eluding to is this. That when we Shuv, or Turn, meaning to turn around, who do we see? It is none other than our Lord. We turn around and run smack dab into The Lord Jesus. So with that being said, He was pursuing us.

Everyone I know has this same revelation. He was always there. The Lord was there on the mountain and in the valley and if we made our bed in hell, we could not hide from Him. The Lord was there in the good times and in the bad times. And yes, He was always there.

Just as a groom pursues the one he loves and longs to marry and spend his life with, our Beloved pursues us.

Zechariah 1:3

Therefore say to them, “Thus says The LORD of hosts, “Return to Me”, declares The Lord of host, that I may return to you,” says the LORD of hosts.

Three times He makes it known He is the host, the LORD of host. It is His wedding party and He is the groom and the host.

He is pursuing us longing for us to turn to Him. His desire is that we Shuv, then we shall Teshuvah and be united (just as in a covenant of marriage) with His will and plan.

When we make plans for marriage there are preparations and plans, and yes even rehearsals, all with one purpose in mind that the ceremony be completed in a worthy fashion.

This is the season to set our plows for deep. I do not want any hard neglected areas in my heart. I want to dig up every rock, boulder, and all the clods from my field. We are breaking up fallow and hard ground in order to plant and sow what God desires in our lives.

I believe The Lord is calling us to have plans and seek His purposes. If we know where He is, and where He is leading us, we cannot be lured away by the devil and his schemes. We need to show ourselves diligent when digging out stones and the weeds from our neglected fields.

A couple of years ago I began to clear an old flower bed. This bed had Nandina’s and ground cover that had been growing freely for years. It had been allowed to take over. Digging out the Nandina’s was extremely difficult. The work was back breaking and tedious. Today if I even see a hint of a Nandina in this flower bed; I’m like oh no you don’t. The ground cover and the Nandina are not bad but left to themselves got way out of bounds. So it is with our lives and our hearts. If we do not tend our gardens and our field we may find good things taking over and choking out our time and affection with The Lord.

Is this why He has set Mo’edim and convocations, so we can rehearse and reset our affections back on Him? I believe this is exactly why. Don’t miss your appointment.

Don’t miss this special season. Teshuvah, my favorite time of the year, I will say of The Lord you are my refuge and my fortress, My God in you will I trust.

 

Hebrews for Christians

About the name “Elul”

In the Torah, the month of Elul is simply called the sixth month of the Jewish year. The name “Elul” (אֱלוּל) was “imported” by the Jews after their 70 year exile in Babylon (it is thought to originally come from an Akkadian word meaning “harvest”). Some commentators note that the word may also come from the root of the verb “search” in Aramaic, thus implying that this month should a time of soul-searching or “cheshbon ha-nefesh” (חֶשְׁבּוֹן הַנֶּפֶשׁ).

It is well known that the name Elul is thought to be an acronym for “Ani L’dodi V’dodi Li” – “I am my beloveds and my beloved is mine.”

 

In Hebrew:

אֲנִי לְדוֹדִי וְדוֹדִי לִי

הָרעֶה בַּשׁוֹשַׁנִּים

a•ni • le•do•di • ve•do•di • li

ha•ro•eh • ba•sho•sha•nim

 

“I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine” (Song 6:3)

 

God bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord cause His countenance to rise upon you and give you Shalom.

It is time to be Face to Face with our beloved!

Until next time, thank you for listening me. Laurette